Well, this has proven to be a learning experience...wet sanded and started buffing/polishing...
Couple of small defects that I need to fix, and I sanded through on the heel like a dumbass, but I am happy so far:
I stained the fret board black and lacquered it...don't know if I'll polish...kinda like it how it is...
If I had it to do over, I would work the cutaways and neck heel more (grain isn't completely smooth/filled), might go back and redo at some point, but right now I'm itching to wire this puppy...